UAE denies reports it is involved in talks about land offensive in Yemen
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday denied media reports that it is involved in talks with the United States over a land offensive by military factions in Yemen against the Houthi group that controls much of the country.
The UAE's assistant minister for political affairs Lana Nusseibeh described the reports as "wild unsubstantiated stories" in a statement to Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal on Monday reported that Yemeni factions were planning a ground offensive along the Red Sea coast to take advantage of U.S. bombing of the Houthis and that the UAE had raised the factions' plan with U.S. officials.
Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Yemeni forces opposed to the Houthis are in talks with the U.S. and Gulf allies about a possible land offensive.
The UAE was part of a Saudi-led coalition that launched a military campaign in Yemen from early 2015 to support the Gulf-backed government against the Houthis, who had seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.
The UAE ended much of its presence in Yemen in 2019 and major fighting in the civil war paused in 2022 with a truce and peace talks, leaving the Houthis in control of most of the west of the country, which is home to the majority of the population.
The Houthis, who are closely aligned with Iran and opposed to Israel, began attacking Red Sea shipping in November 2023 in what they said was a show of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump escalated airstrikes against the group in March.
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